The government has said that it will be clamping down on the whiplash compensation issue which is thought to add £90 to every car insurance premium. Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary has said that he is shocked by the problem and that reforms are on their way which should reduce the number of fraudulent claims. He points out that it is wrong that insurance companies should find it cheaper to settle a whiplash claim out of court than to defend it. He says that the government will ensure that unquestionable medical evidence will be required to get compensation and that the savings will be passed back to drivers. These measures will be discussed in a Whitehall summit with the transport secretary Justine Greening.

The Archbishops Council of the Church of England has stated that the compensation package offered to churches to make up for the loss of VAT relief on church alterations will not make up for the money lost. The government removed the tax relief in an effort to ensure that wealthy homeowners could not get a tax break for alterations to listed buildings. However around 75% of those affected are churches and community organisations. The Church of England expects the loss to their churches will be £20 million. The government compensation package will add around £5 million to the current grant scheme which provides £12 million in total. Some churches have already halted alteration schemes due to the changes because they can no longer afford it. The government has admitted that they may need to give more money and they will be looking into the figures. The church believes that buildings used for charity and community use should be VAT exempt - even if they are listed buildings.

A new website has been launched this week to make it easier for cyclists to claim compensation if they are involved in an accident. Cyclecompensation.com has been started by the Scottish law firm Allan McDougall who hope to tap into the increasing numbers of people who are using cycles to get to work and for leisure pursuits. Julie Harris from the law firm has stated that they have seen an increase in the number of cycling related cases in recent months. She hopes that the website will make it easier for cyclists to make a claim whether it is related to the actions of another driver or because of road surface issues. She says that even those who are slightly injured can claim for compensation. The company is able to cite examples which show that claims of around £5,000 - £10,000 are not uncommon for injuries caused by cycle accidents.

The Sunderland footballer Lee Cattermole has been forced to pay more than £4,000 in compensation to his victims after he caused damage to five cars in spate of vandalism. The cars were attacked last December close to the Newcastle United football ground. The footballer was with another player with the Denmark team who was cleared of any charges, after Cattermole admitted to damaging the cars. The car owners have been given compensation packages which prevented the case going to the courts and a long battle to get reparation for the victims. Cattermole was given a caution which could impact on his sentence if he commits another crime. The player had also been banned from clubs and pubs in Stockton due to problems with disorder and warnings about his bad behaviour. Sunderland AFC have not commented on the latest incident.